Pal·es·tine [ pállə stn ]area in Southwest Asia between the Jordan River and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The oldest evidence historians possess for the linguistic and ethnic character of the population of Palestine comes from the second millennium BC. Then and later, the country was inhabited by a diversity of ethnic groups, mainly Semitic in language. The invading Israelites knew the area as Canaan and its inhabitants as Canaanites. Ancient Palestine was the "Holy Land" of the Bible, the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity. The Muslim Arab conquest of Jerusalem in AD 637 marked the end of Ancient Palestine. Modern Palestine refers to a political entity that lasted from 1917 to 1947. In 1947 the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into two states, a Jewish state and a Palestinian Arab state. Palestinians and some neighboring Arab countries, however, rejected the partition. Wars fought in 1948, 1967, and 1973 between Israel and the surrounding Arab states saw an increase in the land held by Israel. In 1987 a Palestinian uprising or intifada began in protest against the continued Israeli occupation. In 1993 and 1995 agreements were signed under which the Palestinian Arabs gained limited self-rule under the Palestinian National Authority in the Palestinian-Administered Territories in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank of the Jordan River. A second intifada began in 2000 after peace talks collapsed. In 2005 Israel withdrew its military forces and settlements from the Gaza Strip but retained control of its airspace, coastal waters, and entry and exit points. Israel continued to occupy the West Bank, and conflict with the Palestinians persisted.
